Author Note: Because the weather limited crowds last night, we’d love to have South Lakes alumni come to cheer on the team in Herndon next week.....we know you want to see that game anyway!

Reston – A washed out Homecoming parade and heavy rain did not dampen the effort by the Seahawks as they claimed at least a share of their 3rd straight Liberty Conference title with a convincing 35-14 win over the Yorktown Patriots.

The pass-heavy Patriots were stifled by both the weather and the Seahawks defense as their first 9 drives ended with punts or interceptions. While Yorktown quarterback Grant Wilson had plenty of time in the pocket, the Seahawks dropped their linebackers into coverage and their secondary made finding targets almost impossible. Coach Healy stated, “Tonight was probably our most complete effort on defense this season. We wanted him (Wilson) to stay in the pocket and it took real discipline from our defenders to cover their receivers for the full 7 plus seconds of those pass plays.” Wilson was intercepted twice and Gabe Gibson registered 2 of the 3 sacks on the night. Although Gibson rightly gets credit, Healy called those plays “11-man sacks” given the ability of the defense to eliminate Yorktown receivers. By contrast, the weather conditions allowed the Seahawks to focus on their ground attack and attempted only 5 passes the entire game. Rushing touchdowns by Miles (2), Earl (2) and Napolitano (1) were all the offense the Seahawks needed to seal the victory. Coach Healy had equal praise for the offense, “I’m glad we have been able to win a variety of ways, the weather forced us to modify our game plan but our blocking at the line and downfield enabled us to have success on those rushing touchdowns.” With the game easily at hand, Healy was able to cycle out starters by the 3rd quarter in preparation for next week’s contest against Herndon.

The Baron Cameron Cup, given to the winner of the annual contest between South Lakes and Herndon, will be up for grabs in the final regular season game for both teams. While Herndon will likely miss the postseason, the Seahawks will look to spoil Herndon’s final home game in what will likely be a vocal and animated crowd. “Herndon is better this season than in years past and they will not forget some of the big losses we have given them recently. They have some playmakers on their side and I’m sure they will be fired up. We will need to manage our emotions and not get overwhelmed by the environment.”

South Lakes (7-2) (4-0) will travel to play Herndon (4-5) (3-1) this coming Friday. Kick-off will be 7pm.